Many Chinese specimens of Distichophyllum mittenii, especially those from Hainan, were mistaken for D. obtusifolium. Diagnostically, leaf apices of D. obtusifolium are devoid of a clearly differentiated leaf border and are broadly rounded without an apiculus or mucro as is the case in D. mittenii. Furthermore, the submarginal leaf cells of D. obtusifolium are only slightly smaller than the inner paracostal cells, quite unlike the markedly reduced submarginal leaf cells seen in D. mittenii. Thus far, we have not seen any authentic Chinese collections of D. obtusifolium, although its presence in China is to be expected.